The Opposites
by Zectar
Summary: Arc is shy boy who has low self-esteem, but what happens when a girl appears and points out all the perfections he has? A love story between two people with opposing personalities
1. Chapter 1

The Opposites

The village of Ur was as jolly as ever – kids were running around, markets in business, but none really seemed familiar with this fourteen-year-old ginger on her bicycle. She was riding it as though competing with the wind, her light orange bangs that usually had good contact with her piercing blue eyes didn't even tickle her forehead. Her skin was as white as pearls. Her nose and cheeks were splashed with light freckles. Her body was small but controlled. Her lips were thin but even, curling at the edge in a confident smile.

She wore a woollen green jumper that wasn't tight or baggy, but what something a not-sassy village girl would wear. Fitted black pants covered her skinny legs and on her feet were cosy brown boots. Slung over her shoulder was a ragged have-a-sack.

The villagers thought she would fall down any minute by riding her bicycle that fast – some nearly jumped toward her to catch her when she made a turn. But she made them so swiftly and was back on track with such ease that watching her ride could satisfy you.

This unfamiliar girl finally stopped in front of quite a large house. She took a look at the piece of paper that was inside her bicycle basket. And five seconds later, a smile painted her lips as she got down and propped her bicycle against the wooden outer-wall. With her have-a-sack on her shoulder, she walked on the pathway that leaded her to the front door. She knocked.

The door opened and presented Elder Topapa. The gentle elderly man greeted her warmly: "such a pleasure to see you Ava, why surely you have your necessities with you?" he glanced at her have-a-sack.

"Yes," said Ava, "thanks for having me here."

"No problem. Has Cassandra given you some money?" Elder Topapa asked.

Ava shook her head.

"Then I will give you some. Be on your realist behaviour and feel comfortable."

Ava smiled widely and entered the cosy brown house – she instantly saw dozens of children her age, below her age and beyond her age, the older ones wrapped in quilts sipping tea, the youngsters chasing each other with jolly faces.

Normally someone in her situation would look around for someone their age to talk to, or worry about adapting in a different place, but Ava was just hungrily watching the house, and how there were so many holes for a child to fill in with ruckus.

 _That curtain rod has enough space for a bucket of water to fit in it . . . why didn't anyone put a cracker under the mat . . . can I change that mirror up a bit?_

Ava was a troublesome girl – it was in her nature to play pranks on everyone and pull it anywhere she could. Her previous house she lived with her mother, but unfortunately Cassandra had known every single one of her little tricks and didn't give her a chance to play it on her or the guests. Here there were so many holes she could fill, she could prank anyone with a witty plan!

But she reasoned with herself and warned her to be on a very timid manner, this wasn't going to be allowed in Elder Topapa's house.

 _Well he did say I could be on my realist behaviour._ She smiled slyly and dropped her have-a-sack on an empty couch near the fire.

"Sorry, that's my seat," said a boy Ava didn't recognise. He had violet eyes and long hair grey like the moon.

"Oh," said Ava, a bit disappointed – she wanted to sit by the fire. "Ok let me just –"

"Who are you?" asked the boy with a crumpled face, "I'm not sure if I have seen you here before. What's your name?"

"You haven't," Ava smiled, "I'm new here. My name is Ava."

The boy's eyes presented curiosity and he suddenly – without invitation – shook hands with her and spoke in a more gentleman manner: "I am so sorry to have disturbed you Ava, you can sit anywhere you like. My name is Luneth, would you like some tea?"

Ava was surprised, but then she grinned at Luneth and accepted the offer of tea.

Little did she know that someone was staring at her from the corner of the room . . .

 _Authors notes_

 _Hey guys, this is my first ever fanfiction that I wrote. I wanted a fanfiction like this for so long but couldn't find one on the Internet so I decided to write my own fanfiction about Arc. Hope you enjoy._

 _Please leave behind your review._

 _xxx_


	2. The Opposites Ch 2

Who is she? Arc thought – unlike Luneth, he wasn't very popular among the kids, but he was sure that this girl had never been part of this house. If she was, this wouldn't have been his first time he was so interested in her eyes.

They were so extraordinary, so rare, such piercing blue eyes can cut a person deeper than a knife just with one glance. They were penetrating, but still they had this soft white mist floating inside of it, it seemed like a glass ball telling the future. The pupil was unseen.

From the moment she had come in, Arc had put down the book he was reading, and got lost in her eyes. He tried to take his eyes of hers, but every one of her blinks made him want to stare more. The smell of ginger tea caught hold of his nose and he saw Luneth coming from the kitchen with a mug of it. He offered it to the blue-eyed girl with a smile. She gladly took it and closed her eyes, sipping the tea and feeling the warm liquid burn her throat.

Arc shifted. A bit more of staring into those soft intense eyes wouldn't hurt him would it? Instead, he observed the rest of her appearance – she was short. Shorter than him by approximately three or four inches. She was skinny and small. Her light orange hair fell on her back, pin point straight. Untidy bangs crossed paths with her lashes. Thick eyebrows. Sweet lips. Just like him, she was blessed with a slight spray of adorable freckles on her nose and cheeks.

Arc went back to his book. Whoever this girl was, she wasn't distracting him form reading another chapter.

Later that night Arc was resting on his bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. He was thinking of what the bullies told him at school – 'You are nothing. You just are a pathetic loser who is itching to be Luneth's shadow!'

It was true. Such a false truth. He hated to admit it, but he didn't like who he was. He didn't like the fact that he loved to read and become as knowledgeable as possible. He didn't like the fact that he would prefer to stay in the safe side and not get in trouble. He hated the fact that he wasn't adventurous or chivalrous. He hated the fact that he would always be the anti-social nerd in class. He hated the fact that he wasn't Luneth.

Luneth would always be the one who would come to Arc's rescue when he would get bullied in school. It was because he couldn't do it himself. He never defended himself. Because he was weak.

 _Am I a burden to Luneth?_ Arc suddenly thought.

Cold tears slid down his cheeks as horrible thoughts entered his mind. He remembered all those times he'd get thrashed at school – who came to save him? Luneth. Who always told him to be strong? Luneth. Who always would be known as the brave kid? Luneth. It was never Arc.

 _Stop it!_ Arc forced all those horrible thoughts out of his mind, and with one final turn on his bed, he drifted off to sleep.

On the next day, Arc dressed up in his uniform and walked to school. He was early. He wanted to take a walk around the village before going to classes. Camping in the mountains and going to the forests are trips that Luneth would like. Just a simple walk around the village is what could bring a smile on Arc's face.

He walked on the footpaths beside the stone roads, watching carriages drive past, shops ready to start business and elderly woman gardening their yards.

But then fear swelled inside Arc. Fear that drenched him in it. Not because he saw his bullies. Not because he was late to school. But because he had never seen someone ride their bicycle that fast.

********  
 _Authors notes_

 _Hope you liked my story. Please leave behind your review for my fanfiction because I would really like to know what you guys think about it so far._

 _xxx_


	3. Chapter 3

He almost leaped in front to catch the ginger as she made a turn. Not oblivious to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to keep up with the rider, he still charged toward the direction she turned.

Luckily for him though, he saw the black bicycle propped against a tree. Just beside it he saw a shop the ginger was in. Looked like she was buying milk.

Arc stared at the back of her head. He really didn't know what to do. When she turned around, she had a bag of milk in her hand and a confused look on her face. Arc hadn't noticed that. What he did notice was the colour of her blue eyes were fresher than usual; the house yesterday gave out an orange aroma that coated her cool eyes with a layer of warmth. In the open, her blue eyes looked more crystal than ever, and the faint white mist that soared around the ball of blue was more pronounced, not quite visible to the eye at first sight, but pronounced nonetheless.

In those one of a kind eyes, Arc saw himself, standing there expressionless, every one of his detail reflected perfectly in her eyes to the last freckle.

"Hem, hem," coughed the ginger to get Arc's attention.

Arc knew exactly what to say: "You shouldn't be riding that fast, you know."

The girl shrugged. "Well you don't really want to stay far behind, right?" she said as she put the bag of milk in her bicycle basket.

"Is that for Elder Topapa?"

"Yeah. How do you know?"

"I am an orphan there."

"Me too!" The girl took her bicycle and stared at Arc smiling.

He really didn't see what was so intriguing about him.

"Why don't I give you a ride back to the house."

Arc's heart screamed at the thought of it. No way he was going to ride in that thing. Not with her as the rider. But did he really want to seem cowardly in front of her?

"No thanks," he refused with a wave of his hand, "I am actually going to the school –"

"I am too," she cut him off, pointing at the uniform she was wearing. "Lets just go to the house first, we can pick up Luneth as well! You know him, don't you?"

"Yeah. . ."

"Then let's go!" She exclaimed as she sat on the drivers seat, indicating Arc to sit at the back.

Oh God. . . thought Arc

He sat down behind her.

"By the way, I am Ava," she said with a wink

"Arc."

The second after he mouthed his name, they were off, leaving behind the wind.

Arc had buckled his knees together. He was so scared that fear was attending the same sort of ride he was, but instead inside he organs. He felt sick. He wanted to puke, but he didn't dare open his mouth. He clutched his stomach, but fear just slipped away and instead tickled his chest, where his heart wanted to hammer open his rib cage.

He nearly fell of his seat when she dodged people to get to her destination. He had to bite his lip from yelling at her to be more careful when she made turns so sharply. He could feel her whisper under her breath "faster. . . faster. . . faster. . ."

 _Make it stop_ he desperately pleaded in his mind.

And it did.

They were in front of Elder Topapa's house. Arc felt dizzy. He got of his seat and struggled to find the ground. It took a few minutes to get his eyes back into focus. Ava was out of breath but a smile on her face assured that she was feeling fabulous. She looked at Arc.

"You ok?"

Arc nodded, still uncertain of what would happen if he opened his mouth.

Both of them entered the house. After presenting the milk to Elder Topapa, Arc and Ava climbed to Arc's dormitory that he shared with Luneth.

Ava positioned Arc a bit far away from the door.

"Watch this," she whispered to him.

She knocked on the door and quickly stepped back to where Arc was standing. The knob turned and the door opened to greet them with Luneth, and then a drenched Luneth.

A bucket fell from on top of the door. Luneth was wet from head to toe. Ava laughed. Arc failed to supress a smile.

"Not funny!" said Luneth, throwing his hands up. He looked at Ava, "I am the trouble maker!"

"I guess your post has been stolen."

"No way!" Luneth turned bitter. "You can't do that! You better watch out in school today."

"Oh I will watch out – for you!" Ava spat sourly at him.

Both of them turned and left the scene.

This happened quick. All Arc could think of was _what just happened?_

 _Authors Notes_

 _I ditched my dinner to write this chapter, I couldn't just leave 12 viewers could I? 12 VIEWERS. For me that's a lot._

 _Thankyou guys so much, I cannot express how happy I am right now, but everyone knows: words aren't the only way to express how you feel - Tifa. (I think I wrote that right)._

 _I just have one more request - please leave behind your reviews so I know what you guys think about my fanfiction._

 _Next chapter is coming soon, I promise._

 _xxx_


	4. Chapter 4

The day was spent with Arc observing Luneth and Ava shooting frosty glares at each other. This war began so suddenly that Arc actually couldn't believe that this wasn't a joke to his childhood best-friend Luneth.

Luneth was the kid who could spend every minute plotting a prank on someone or the other – the orphans, the milkman, or the lady next to the house, he always had something new. The entire village knew about his little nasty tricks. Some people liked it, some people didn't, but Luneth had grown so in love with his pranks that it didn't even matter to him what the other thought.

Ava, on the other hand, kicked it off with the classic water bucket prank, but Arc couldn't think of any logical way she could have possibly set up the prank and yet Luneth had not noticed it. She managed everything so sneakily no wonder she enjoyed the terrified expressions on her victims.

Arc was gifted the talent of analysing people – according to his predictions, Luneth was a creative trickster while Ava was a logical one. Both of them had their advantages because Ava had the ability to prank anywhere and anytime, while Luneth could come up with something completely out of the blue.

And the war jumped into savageness when Ava had almost broken a nail because of her toe getting stuck under a mouse trap. She threw Luneth an icy glare, but she got her chance when her next prank concerned about Luneth almost stabbing his bottom with a hidden pin when he so comfortably sat on his chair. Ava laughed her heart out at the sight of his face getting red.

The next events were of Luneth eating mayo cupcakes thinking it was vanilla, Ava's shoes getting stuck to the ground, Luneth falling to the ground because his chair was faulty, and Ava's hair getting stuck to a tree branch.

Arc observed all this, smiling when the both of them got pranked and protesting when they were plotting a prank.

It was evening time, and all the students were almost about to leave school.

"This is going to be awesome!" said Luneth – he had hung white sheets up at the ceiling, and with just one pull of the rope, they would start dancing around like lost souls. He wanted to scare Ava with his ghosts made out of white blankets and red paint. He knew she had to submit a book to the library, so he decided to prank her with his hand-made ghosts right when she enters the room. To make it even more epic, he wanted to call the whole school to sneakily watch the scene from the library windows.

"I don't think you should do this, you could get in trouble." Arc was concerned – not only for Luneth getting in trouble, but also because he didn't want Ava to feel bad and get scared because of this prank. This was all so stupid to him, but what else could he do apart form protest. Luneth and Ava were definitely not going to listen to him.

"Don't worry," Luneth assured him, making the last adjustments for his trick.

"Do you have to call the whole school?"

"Yes I do! Of course I do! It's just a small prank, nothing else. Come on, lets go call the others."

Luneth and Arc set of to invite the other students for a little scare show.

Unfortunately for Luneth, at that moment Ava had entered the room – and there was no one to pull the rope and scare her. She set the book she wanted to submit at the librarian's desk since he wasn't there.

Before leaving the room however, a cunning smile appeared on her face. See what I do . . . she thought sinisterly. She left the room, with her plans yet to uncover.

As she went outside she saw practically the whole school kneeling down to the get a small look at the windows of a classroom. Curiosity made her go to the group and mimic what the others did.

She waited patiently for something to happen – and something did.

The door opened and in came the librarian Mr Larry, screaming and shouting and flailing his hands around the white sheets that danced around the room.

Ava stuffed her fist into her mouth to stifle her laughter.

Mr Larry cried for the light switch, but when he turned it on all it did was switch on and switch off like a spirit had possessed the entire room.

The entire group of students fell down on the floor crying with laughter at the horrified, lanky Mr Larry.

However, he noticed the students laughing outside and uncovered the prank made library.

Ava was going to leave school with her bag all ready on her back, but she thought of visiting Mr Larry, not to apologise (she never did that), but to inform him about her returning the book.

When she made her way to the library, Mr Larry had already left school, but who she did see was Luneth and Arc taking of white sheets form the ceiling.

Widen eyed, she pointed at Luneth and said, "you made these ghosts?"

"Uh, yeah."

A moment of silence.

"That was awesome!" squealed Ava.

A wide smile appeared on Luneth's face. "And you played with the lights, didn't you?"

Ava nodded.

Arc had sensed that Ava and Luneth were definitely considering each other as their partner in crime.

 _Authors Notes_

 _Tada! Hope you like chapter 4 of my fanfiction. Please leave behind your review of what you think of my fanfiction so far._

 _OK BYEEEE_

 _XXX_


	5. Chapter 5

Luneth and Ava had been good on each other since the past few days. Even though Arc didn't approve of them spending their time writing down their prank ideas on others, it was still better than both of them fighting.

They had taken an empty book and named it: THE BOOK OF DOOM. It was where all of their pranks were hidden. They didn't even let Arc see it.

After the prank war had ended, Arc's life had been the same except for a few tweaks: his best friend Luneth wrote pranks in the BOOK OF DOOM with Ava while he read his books, sometimes Luneth and him would spend time together around the village like they used to, Ava and he would meet each other for maximum of five minutes.

And all this had not affected what Arc thought about himself – he still though of himself as a pet walking in someone's shadow.

Ava had made matters worse; she was just like Luneth. She too loved to wonder around aimlessly, venture around the forest, stand up for people, play pranks, speak her mind – not a care in this world. The dangers didn't really matter to her, because she was strong enough to go past them without turning her head.

How Arc wished to be like her – he wanted to be brave, he wished he could say what's in his mind, he wished he could ride a bicycle that fast without any fear averting him form his goal.

Tears rolled down his eyes and splashed on the pages of the book he was reading. He quickly wiped them with the back of his hand to not let anyone see them. He didn't have to worry about it that much though because it was evening time and he was in the house – usually in the evening a lot of the orphans go to the village or the parks to play (Luneth was keen on the idea). The only people that were there in the house were a couple of older orphans.

The door opened and in came a sweating Ava, out of breath.

 _Must've been riding her bicycle_ Arc thought.

She immediately spotted Arc and a smile grew on her face. Arc was straight-faced. When she came and sat down on the couch next to Arc, he couldn't help but once again be fascinated by her piercing blue eyes.

"What are you reading?" Ava asked, leaning so that she could see the book. It was just a book about incantations.

Arc hadn't even thought about this since the day Ava had come. He turned to her and asked: "how did you end up in this orphan house?"

Ava gave a nonchalant expression and explained: "I am not really an orphan. My mother's name is Cassandra, and well, she didn't really want me in the house. So she called Elder Topapa, and asked if he could take me. And so I came here."

"Sorry . . ."

"Ah don't worry about me," Ava shrugged it off. "I didn't really like my mother either. Plus, I love Ur! It's a village! It's so, um . . . villagey?"

"Village-like," Arc grinned, "where did you live?"

"Huge place, tall buildings, grey roads, concrete everywhere."

"it sounds so modern. You like it there?"

"Not really, I felt trapped and nauseous, like I am in a cage. Ur is very open, I can ride my bicycle as fast I wish."

Ava had a searching look in her eyes as she stared at Arc. Again Arc didn't notice that – the stopped conversation made his attention go back to the girl's blue eyes.

"I don't tell this to anyone Arc. About my origins."

"So you didn't tell Luneth too?"

"Nope. You feel more trustworthy than him."

Arc's eyes snapped to attention as heard this. He was something that Luneth was not. He'd never heard that from anyone before.

"More than Luneth?"

"Yeah, like if it told that to Luneth there would probably be a 60% chance he would spit it out – maybe not even realizing it."

Arc took this in. This came form a girl who spoke her mind, so he knew she wasn't lying. And how could she possibly know about his low self-esteem. She doesn't.

"I've never told this to anyone either," Arc started, "but I have low self-esteem. I really want to be like you and Luneth, I want to be brave and adventurous, and I want to learn how to stand up for my self and for others. I hate that I cannot be brave, and I hate that I am always the quiet and shy one. I cannot say what I think. Ava, I hate who I am."

A moment of silence broke through their conversation of discovery.

"And why do you focus on all of your bad things?"

Arc looked at Ava, who wasn't staring at him but straight ahead.

"You are so many things that we are not Arc. You not speaking your mind made you a very secretive and interesting person. You are intelligent – you can read an entire fat novel in just one day, while Luneth and I struggle to read even a page. You can solve things easily by using your brain. And as for you not standing up for yourself – all of your bullies never know your weaknesses because you never do."

Ava looked at Arc's surprised fa cans smiled: "you always complete all you assignments and make others look bad, you always are quiet and so you are a magnet to people me and Luneth – no wonder Luneth is your best friend! And you never want to explore in the forest because you have a much bigger world inside your head."

Ava continued, "Arc you enjoy the simple things in life, which is something Luneth and I couldn't possibly do. We always want more, but you are satisfied with everything you have. Don't ever question yourself Arc, because all of our weaknesses are what your strength is."

Arc felt magically alive: he didn't even realize how many good qualities he had in him.

Ava gave him one final encouraging smile and got up from the couch – but when she did, something didn't feel right. Arc felt like his heart had weakened and was sliding down his chest to his stomach, and while that was in process his brain desperately cried at her to come back for him . . .

 _Authors notes_

 _Its happening. . . Arc is falling for Ava!_

 _xxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Ava had woken up early to conquer the day by getting milk for Elder Topapa, helping the neighbours by mowing their lawn and playing the guitar, singing around the village because Ur was incomplete without her voice.

The aftermath of all of her chores resulted her and Luneth planning out to camp the heart of the forest – apparently danger attracted the two of them. They had lied to Elder Topapa that during the weekend they were going to camp in the forest right next to the closest river.

Arc was definitely not impressed with their idea: "it will take about six hours to go into the core . . ."

"That will be even more fun," both if them answered.

"There will be monsters there."

"Then we will fight them."

"What if there are poisonous insects there?"

"We're taking medication."

"And if the forest catches fire?"

"Its winter."

Arc threw his hands up like a child throwing a tantrum. "That's not the point!" he huffed. "The forest is dangerous!"

"And we like danger."

"You aren't going to listen to me are you?"

"Nope."

Arc sighed in defeat. "Fine. . ."

Arc was sure worried about that them, but he knew that they were strong enough to encounter any monsters. And if the situation was too dangerous, they were agile enough escape the scene.

So, Saturday morning, they left the house and made their path to the forest. The said that they will be back by Sunday evening.

 _They better be back by Sunday evening_ , Arc thought sourly, worry written all over his face.

Saturday passed through with Arc either doing his homework, reading book or constantly glancing at the clock and hoping that Sunday would come quicker – however, time seemed to have been sleeping that day.

Arc hadn't questioned himself after his talk with Ava, but that wasn't the reason he was getting diverted from reading his books. The house felt emptier without Luneth's brave talks and Ava's miserable jokes.

Ava. That name would always bring a smiling image of the girl in his mind. How could she be so. . . happy? She sees life through a child's eyes, stubbornly arguing to prove her point, dancing in the rain not caring if she catches a cold, trying to persuade everyone to be positive. For approximately two months Arc hadn't seen a single tear slide down her cheek – even when the tyres of her bicycle (which she was very attached to) had to be taken away for repair.

He could see her, even now, she was probably urging herself to climb that tree up to the point where she could see him, seeming as though he was reading his book.

He wasn't, even with his favourite book in his hand, all he could think of was Ava. The feeling of ice cubes slipping down his chest and gathering up into a big lump in the pit of his stomach was what the thought of her was doing to him. It was nauseating, distracting, irritating, and yet he loved it. . .

Sunday morning rolled in, making Arc sigh in relief that Luneth and Ava were going to come by evening.

It was about 4:00 when the house door had been knocked on and all of Arc's anguish had melted. But he was soon panicking when in came Luneth – only Luneth, bruised and beaten, limping and leaning on the door. Ava was unseen.

Arc at once rushed to Luneth's side and gently grabbed him by the shoulder to support him. Elder Topapa and a few other older orphans were gathered around him.

"What happened to you Luneth?" Elder Topapa asked him, "where is young Ava?"

Luneth swallowed the blood in his mouth, and gasped, "I couldn't save her. . ."

Arc's blood froze.

 _Authors Notes_

 _So sorry I didn't post for the past few days, I had no internet in my house. Hope this chapter will make up for it._

 _xxx_


	7. Chapter 7

Arc rushed out of the house at once – he had to see her. He suddenly had conquered all of the confidence in the world and plunged into the forest where Ava was in danger.

He kept on running, tripping on twigs and roots, the image of the girl dying made his heart ache. Arc hadn't thought of the monsters that lurked in the forest – a rustle behind the bush made him stand his ground, eyes snapping left and right with caution. He hadn't realized how loudly he was running. He slowly dodged the dry leaves on the grass to prevent crushing them with his foot, and started jogging as quietly as a mouse.

The dark was piercing and the moon got lost in the shamble of thorns and branches floating above the forest, but the raggedy mud paths punched with holes and the smell of soil and herbs intensifying told Arc that he was soon going to be loitering around the heart.

Arc had stepped on something completely icy cold wet, and hurriedly put back his soaked foot behind his dry one. In a matter of seconds his eyes adapted to the dark and a flowing river came in sight.

 _A river! They must have set camp somewhere near here_ Arc thought.

But a loud thud that shook the ground made Arc fall behind and wish no monster had seen him.

His wish was unheard. A monster probably the twice the size of Arc had appeared in front of him.

"Ahoy lad! You will not trespass this river unless you win me in a battle!" the monster roared.

Arc blinked – a monster that can talk? But how could he win him in a battle, Arc didn't know how to fight – he still needed to cross the river to find Ava.

 _But even though he can talk, he is still a monster_ _– monsters are as dumb ad trolls,_ Arc thought.

So he grinned at the ugly monster and said, "Oh no, you have already fought me."

The monster looked confused.

"Look, how many years have you been challenging travellers?"

"14 years."

"Guess my age."

"You look 10."

"I am 14! So basically every battle you have ever participated in has been against me!"

"Ohhhhh." The monster scratched his chin. "Makes a lot of sense. So who won?"

Arc couldn't believe someone could be so stupid. "Um. . . I."

"You must be very strong. Stronger than that Bartz character."

"Bartz?"

"Yeah. Youth wondering around with his little chicken – he was strong but I swatted him like a bug."

"Great."

"Hm. . ." The monster shook his head. "So I guess you can cross the river since you have beaten me."

"Yes."

"Very well, thanks for all the battles."

"You too, I had a lot of fun."

That was quiet confusing – even to Arc. But when the monster turned around and left, he quickly made his way through the stones that made a sort of bridge and to the other bank of the river.

It was darker there, and Arc was soon panicking because he couldn't see a thing. Shouting her name out or making fire would only attract more monsters. Panic drenched Arc as he started wondering fearsomely what to do, until his leg hit a root – or was it a root. It was too soft to be one.

Arc bent down and touched it to reveal that it was someone's ankle. Ava's ankle.

She was lying down unconscious, dry blood settled on her fore head and a gash on her lip. She had cuts and bruises all over her arms. She was cold as ice. Arc hand moved up toward her neck. She was barely alive, her pulse felt like an ant breathing.

Arc wanted to cry, to shout, to save her, to kiss her, her breathing uneven felt against his finger numb with fear.

But just that instant a needle-sharp pain inserted at the back of his neck. The sting of the poisonous bee had got him, making his blood burn and bones throb.

All the poison settled at the bottom of his stomach. He pressed his stomach with all of his force, and thankfully threw up all of the poison at the roots of a tree, where it sizzled and got sucked up by the mud.

His head hurt, and he soon fell to the ground beside Ava, wandering around a vortex of black that was as dark as pitch. . .

Authors Notes

Leave behind your reviews! Would love to know what you think!

xxx


	8. Chapter 8

The morning light had warmed him enough to feel alive. He woke up with just a single thread of pain laced on to him. And he saw Ava.

She was sitting down on the yellow grass, her back against a tree, her one leg pressed her chest and the other tucked underneath the first one. Her fingers criss-crossed on her first knee, and her head was resting on the tree trunk just like her back. Her bangs hid her eyes, but Arc could tell she was gazing at the pleasant sun.

"Ava," Arc voiced softly.

The corner of her lips carved into a small smile. "You came, even though you were afraid."

"I wasn't – you made my fear go away. I don't think I can see you in pain."

Ava looked at Arc. For the first time – her eyes didn't please him. They weren't crystal clear misty and piercing blue like they were, but empty hollow, the white wisps gone; they were just lifeless solid blue marbles filled with misery. He skin was paler than a bone, she looked skinnier than usual, her clothes were ripped, her hair was dusty. She had somehow managed to clean all the dry blood off of her bruises and forehead. She was sick, she was in pain, her talk was barely a whisper, and yet she still kept smiling.

"Ava, we have to go," said Arc as he went closer to her to pick her up.

"Arc, it hurts," Ava whispered.

"Where?"

"Everywhere. When I talk it hurts, when I blink it hurts, when I breathe it hurts."

She sighed in grief – "Arc I am dying." She pulled up her shirt to reveal an extremely nasty bite at her waist. "The poison is eating me up."

"It won't. You won't die Ava I promise," his palm gently covered hers, "Ava, remember you told me your weakness is my strength. Well I am going to use my strength to bring you back to safety."

With that, Arc lifted Ava up his back and he started walking slowly toward the river, crossed it and began his way where he came from.

Arc was careful not to step on roots and twigs, not because he wanted to avoid monsters (there weren't any monsters in the morning anyway), but because he didn't want it to be uncomfortable for Ava.

As for her, she just rested her head against Arc's shoulder, and didn't know if it was a bird chirping nearby, but he could've sworn that before falling asleep, Ava had lightly whispered "I love you. . ."

Arc had exited the forest and now was walking on the stony streets of Ur. The villagers stared at the two of them pass, but Arc was keen on sending Ava to Elder Topapa (since he apparently could cure anything). He looked straight ahead, ignoring the gasps of the people, and finally reached the house, where Elder Topapa was already at the doorstep.

Elder carefully took Ava in his arms and to the girls' dormitory – she was sleeping peacefully.

Arc hated to leave her alone, but he knew it was for the best. The door remained locked and Arc kept facing it, desperately hoping that Elder would open it and let him in.

An orphan tapped him on the shoulder and presented him with some herbal water, saying that Elder had given it to him. Soon after drinking that up, Arc felt drowsy and he went to his bedroom to sleep a bit.

After about approximately two hours he woke. He charged toward the girls' dorm where Ava and Luneth were sitting on her bed, chatting and discussing the events.

"What's up Arc, come," Luneth gestured him to come and sit down beside him.

Ava and him were wrapped with bandages. Luneth looked perfectly alright, and as for Ava, she had regained her normal carefree attitude as well as her piercing crystal blue eyes. Arc had waited so long for those shining eyes to open up – he felt like he had won an award by gazing at her blue orbs. And Ava didn't turn her head to ruin Arc's staring. She wouldn't take her happy eyes off Arc, an impressed smile painted on her lips with clearly shown lust.

Arc sat beside Luneth.

"Hey Arc, how _did_ you find Ava? Like, in the dark." Luneth asked.

"Um, I just tripped over her ankle."

"Oh, so, what about the big monster that guarded the river?"

"Oh him. . ."

"Yeah, that jerk didn't allow us to cross the river the first time we went there. He was in a bad mood so, Ava an I just passed by climbing the trees. But the ruddy thing found out that we'd crossed the river, and he came banging at us. That hurt. He'd bit Ava and was after me, so I couldn't do anything except run."

"Um, I actually confused him."

Luneth and Ava's jaws dropped.

"Confused?"

"Yes."

Luneth gave a thoughtful nod. "Confusing foes. Man, I got to right that down in the BOOK OF DOOM!"

He gave another nod and dashed out of the room.

There was a moment of silence.

"Arc?"

"Hm?"

"Thankyou."

And the last thing that Arc felt before his heart melting started melting away was Ava's soft lips brushing against his.

THE END

Authors Notes

Well, opposites attract.

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